I read in the Harrisburg Patriot News today that Harrisburg would be a possible candidate for the relocation of the AAA Ottawa baseball team if they decided to move.

One of the requirements for hosting a AAA team is a stadium that seats at least 10,000. Supposedly a plan to upgrade Riverside Stadium has been in the works but is waiting for funding. I can't help but wonder if this would help or hurt plans to upgrade and rennovate the Skyline Sports Complex, where the City Islanders will play next door. Any thoughts, Harrisburgers?

Here's a link to the article Pennlive

I think that the article anwers your question. They would have to sell the AA club before a AAA team could move to Harrisburg. They had purchased the team for 6 mil. So they should probably be able to get 8 - 10 for it. They could in turn use this to upgrade the stadium and maybe the soccer field also. So, if anything overall this would probably help the soccer team.

A lot of this might seem off-topic, but it isn't in the end. Sorry for the length.

There is talk of moving the AAA team to York too. This almost happened a few years ago when I worked at The York Dispatch. But Peter Kirk fought with the minor leagues about investing with Ripken on an independent team at the same time as owning "official" minor league teams and sold all his "official" minor league interests, killing it.

A lot of issues here.

Reed's ego is the biggest (issue and ego ). Triple A teams are more transient then AA. He wouldn't have control like he does now and I think he thrives on that. With the AA team, he can block anything AA or below coming to the midstate.

He doesn't believe anyone else in the midstate can support AAA. He charmed the pants off one of the most skeptical reporters I have ever known in a one-on-one when York was very close to getting Rochester's team. So he thinks he controls baseball in the midstate. In a way, he's right.

I don't know Lancaster's situation if they look there, but York is struggling to get the stadium for an independent team built. If AAA wanted to come to York, it would probably push the entire process back to square one because the stadium they are planning wouldn't meet AAA specs. I assume Lancaster is in the same boat.

So whoever gets picked for this ... if it happens ... will have to commit very quickly to making renovations/building a AAA quality stadium. I don't see that happening in the current county political environment in York. I assume the same is true in Lancaster.

I think this is just a game to take advantage of the Orioles' connections in the midstate so that some other city without an emotional attachment will outbid small cities who think the Orioles' AAA team will save all their problems.

So, bringing it back to the original question, I think there will be no effect at all in Harrisburg because Steve Reed won't have control of this team and he won't have the league offices in his city.

He won't give that control up to get a few million.

Anyone been up to Skyline lately? Have they done any work (before the storm, that is)?